El Pomar Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2010 Awards for Excellence.
Awards for Excellence was established in 1989 to recognize and reward people and organizations that generously serve their communities with merit and excellence. Award recipients are nominated by the Awards for Excellence Selection Commission, which is made up of statewide community leaders who represent a wide variety of interests. Every year Awards for Excellence grants more than $400,000 to Colorado nonprofits, businesses, and individuals.
There are eleven categories in which nonprofit organizations are nominated, and one outstanding organization will receive the Spencer and Julie Penrose Award as the state’s outstanding nonprofit of the year. A total of 33 nonprofits will receive monetary grants and commemorative awards during the annual Awards for Excellence presentation ceremony on November 9 in Colorado Springs. This year’s finalists are:
Arts & Humanities
1) Grand Friends- Rocky Ford
2) Sangre de Cristo Arts & Conference Center- Pueblo
3) Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra Association- Greeley
Community
1) Presidents Leadership Class- Boulder
2) Spanish Peaks Library District- Walsenburg
3) Pueblo City County Library District- Pueblo
Education
1) Youth Foundation- Edwards
2) Literacy Outreach- Glenwood Springs
3) Keystone Science School- Keystone
Environment
1) Mountain Park Environmental Center- Beulah
2) Gore Range Science School- Avon
3) Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado- Denver
Health Care- Large
1) Sunrise Community Health- Evans
2) Denver Health & Hospitals Foundation- Denver
3) Colorado Children’s Healthcare Access Program- Aurora
Health Care – Small
1) Eagle Care Medical Clinic- Eagle
2) Arkansas Valley Hospice- La Junta
3) Southeast Mental Health Services- La Junta
Self Sufficiency
1) Homeward Pikes Peak- Colorado Springs
2) Las Animas Helping Hands- Las Animas
3) Denver’s Road Home- Denver
Seniors
1) Senior Resource Development Agency- Pueblo
2) Center for African American Health- Denver
3) La Plata Senior Center- Durango
Special Projects
1) Rocky Mountain PBS- Pueblo
2) Denver Scholarship Foundation- Denver
3) Myron Stratton Consortium- Colorado Springs
Sports & Recreation
1) Small Champions- Vail
2) SOS Outreach- Edwards
3) Colorado Flyers- Denver
Youth Development
1) Therapeutic Riding & Education Center- Pueblo
2) The Buddy Program- Aspen
3) Kempe Foundation Fostering Healthy Futures Program- Denver
In addition, three awards are given to individuals for exceptional leadership (the Russell Thayer Tutt Award), long-lasting impact (the Shrine of the Sun Award), and nonprofit achievement (the Ben S. Wendelken Special Trustees’ Award). One business is recognized with the Governor John A. Love Award for its commitment to the nonprofit sector. The individual and business awards will be revealed along with the nonprofit winners in each category at a presentation ceremony in Colorado Springs on November 9.